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Class Rules

Please set your microphone to “push-to-talk” or mute (if you have Teacher role on Discord)
Feel free to ask questions in:��
Recording the class is only permitted if all participants are informed about it and have agreed to being recorded.
Stay safe during the class (usually docked-up is preferred).�

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

Text	Preface your questions with “Q”�e.g.: “Q: What are bookmarks?”
Voice	Whenever there are open comms �(usually at the end of class during Q&A session).

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What is FCing?

FC Stands for “Fleet Command”�
Shot Calling and Target Priority�
Strategic Maneuvering�
Tactical Maneuvering�
Herding Cats

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

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Why FC?

It’s Fun!�
Content Creation�
Someone has to step up when a threat comes - it could be you�
FCing can be a path toward corp advancement, leadership, and recruitment.�
Space Fame

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

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Downsides of FC

You are a content creator�
You’re going to have to fly DPS and FC ships�
The threat of Burnout�
Pressure to be available for operations around the clock

Just remember - This is still just a game!

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

It’s not all roses and sunshine however.

Unfortunately… you *are* the content creator. You are the person who people will be looking to when content starts to dry up. And people undoubtedly will expect you - even if they don’t admit it - to entertain them. Get them a good fight. Playing the game casually becomes more difficult.

Flying Tackle, logi, ewar, booshers, other special ships is pretty much … not going to happen if you are primary FC. You may not even be able to multibox as much - but that line is different for everyone. You need to be able to put most of your attention toward the acts you are doing.

There can be a lot of stress that comes from leading people in these situations. When things go wrong, when fleets get whelped, you might have to shoulder the blame. And constantly being asked to step up to lead these situations can 100% lead to burn out.

Depending on your corp or alliance, and the culture within - and its membership - you may be asked to facilitate and FC at all sorts of hours. You may very well find yourself setting an alarm for 2 am to not only play Eve, but also lead people and make split second decisions.

But don’t let this scare you!

The responsibility is real but this is still entirely a game!

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Qualities of a good FC

Assertive�
Calm under pressure�
Willing to fail, repeatedly, and try again�
Game Mechanics�
Communication

Luckily - Uni is a place to learn and embrace these qualities!

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

What are qualities of a good FC?

First things first - no one expects FCs in Uni to have these qualities from the get go. You are 100% expected to need to work on these things when you FC in Uni, and we have things in place to support you in learning them - like back seat second in commands.

These qualities are all important - all of them should be worked on by FCs continuously, and in balance with each other.

Assertive - you should be able to make commands, without hesitation. You should be willing to stick to your guns if you are sure you are right.

Calm under pressure - The Jitters are real - and we all went through them. Conquering them - or at least being able to get past them early in a fight - is important to making good decisions.

Willing to fail, over and over, and trying again - You are not going to be perfect. You will whelp fleets. You will get expensive ships killed. You got to be willing to take these things in stride, review your mistakes, larn from them, and try again.

Game Mechanics - Its something you may always be trying to learn, but you should understand a little bit about everything…

You need to understand weapon mechanics to be able to position your fleet for maximum damage dealt and minimum in return

You need to understand ship types and what they may be capable of.

You need to understand fitting, and how your fleet’s fit is supposed to work and what the enemy may be fitted as to understand their strengths and weaknesses.

You need to understand space mechanics like Aggression Timers, Polarization, Station timers, bubbles and more.

You’ll want to understand PVE, Mining, and Hauling activities to understand how to catch these types.

And finally, COMMUNICATION - and you’ll see this word highlighted like this throughout the class. Because TALKING and keeping up a steady stream of commands, reminders, and actions is incredibly important for FCs to do. Without communication, fleet members dont know what to do. without communication, scouting reports get lost. Without communication, information gets misinterpreted.

But once again! You do not have to understand all these things to start FCing - especially at Uni. Everyone has got to start somewhere, and you can read up and take classes all the time - but eventually you have to put all that knowledge into practice, and you can only become good at doing that by doing it over and over. ��Plus doing it is the best way to get past the jitters!

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Getting Started

PVP!�
Join fleets, volunteer for roles and responsibilities

Even PvE fleets!�

Join the FC group here at Uni�
Learn, Learn, Learn

Videos
Self Recording
AARs
Ask questions!�

Communicate!!

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

So what is a path to getting started?�

Most important… PvP! Just get out there. Be it in a fleet, or solo, getting out there and fighting in space is the first step to becoming an FC. You will start to push the jitters down, you will learn more information about what ships can and can’t do, and you will gain lots of experience in general of what PvP is like

You should 100% join every fleet you can. You’ll get exposure to different kinds of FCing - everyone has a style - you will get an understanding of various roles that are open - like scouting, Logi FCs, Anchors, Ewar FCs and more - and maybe you volunteer for these positions!

Always be looking for more knowledge.

Watch videos - at first you’ll have trouble following the action, but the more experience you gain, the easier it will be to read the action.
Likewise, if you can, record yourself. You don’t have to share it with anyone - and review the video after the fight is over. See if you can spot mistakes or where things went right or wrong.
Participate in AARs - After Action Reports - to learn more of what could be done differently - both in your own actions and in the FCs above you to learn from what they experience as well!

and Communicate!

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How Will you Prepare for a Fleet?

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

Sun Tzu

Doctrine

Tank (Same Type, Similar EHP values)
Weapon Range and Application
Speed

Make sure ships are available if handing them out

Either distribute by Trade windows or have them on Contract
Or enforce Bring-Your-Own!

Preparation

if you know where the fight will occur, set up Tacticals/bookmarks ahead of time
Have a fleet setup ready - Include an MoTD with formup, doctrine, comm policies, anchors, scout / logi information, and anything else that may be important to Communicate it to the fleet.

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

(Teacher Note - each bullet point is a click for reveal animation)��Sun Tzu said:��Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

Take a moment.

Think.

What do you think would be the things you need to do to prepare for a fleet?

First thing - you need to know your Doctrine - or multiple doctrines - ahead of time. You want to try and understand what this doctrine is good at, what kind of fighting it will do

Be aware of your tank type - Armor, Shield - and try to make sure your doctrines (if mixing) have similar tank values
Understand your weapon systems range and application - try and understand what the minimum skills will do versus max
Know the speed of your fleet, and how it varies between logi and dps and other fleet parts.

If you are providing ships for your fleet - make sure they are staged and ready before the fleet starts!

Figure out how you want to distribute them. Maybe the trade window - some people do things like “Trade me 1 isk for this ship, 2 isk for this ship” or DM me with letter X for ship 1 or B for ship 2. Alternatively, just have them up on contract
Of course you can also have it be a Bring Your Own Ship fleet (be aware of what that means for SRP)

Preparation -

If you know where the fight will occur - say on a station for an attack or defense - set up tacticals. Get bookmarks placed around the grid to give you flexibility in where you may engage.
Have a fleet set up saved and ready to go - you can save a fleet set up by going to the triple dots (Keebob menu) when in a fleet and “Store Fleet Setup” - Have a Message of the Day set (Keebob menu in the fleet chat, set MotD) - Include things like Doctrine, Logi Channel links, book marks folders, who is who in the command structure - who will be the anchor, what the goal of the fleet is, where you are going to stage from ect.

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Preparation - Create your Team

Logi FC

Communicates to you of the state of the fleet:

“Holding” - ships are being caught by logi and DPS from the enemy fleet is not enough to break a ship
“Breaking” ships are dying, but slowly
And if it goes beyond Breaking … ships are not staying alive, and logi is unable to keep up.�

Secondary FC (aka “2IC”)

Takes over if you get killed
May have tasks delegated to them

Broadcast targets
Shot calling if you get jammed
Anchor
Communicates D-scan and new arrivals

In Uni you can have a more experienced FC backseat as your 2IC �

Scouts (Interceptors, Fast Tackle, Cloaky Hunters, ect)

They will Communicate what they’ve found if you are on a roam
Might tell them to “Go +1”, “Go -1”, or “Picket”
They’ll be your eyes on possible danger - gatecamps, other fleets, ect

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

Creating your Team is important - Sometimes these things are planned in advance. Sometimes you pull people as the fleet starts. Sometimes its kind of organic - each FC has a preferred way of doing things and you should figure out what your style is.

(Teacher note; Again appears with clicks on bullet points)

Logi FC - Your logi FC will be in charge of your logi wing. Theyll be keeping an eye on and setting up cap chains. They’ll keep an eye on how your logi is doing and the general status of your fleet so you dont have to. - If your fleet has dedicated logi ships you *need* this role in your team

Ask your logi FC how things are going “Logi, how we doing?” They’ll reply with something like “Holding” - ie, we’re good. Keep fighting!
They may say logi is breaking. The exact meaning of this will vary from Logi FC to Logi FC - but in general it means that they are not able to keep up with the incoming DPS. You have to make a decision - time to extract? Or change tactics? will you have enough ships to keep pushing through their ships until DPS falls to a level your logi can handle?
And if they logi is not able to hold, and is breaking really bad … well they’ll communicate this and you should probably get starting on extracting

Secondary FC

They’ll take over if you get killed - so its good to designate them from the start so people are aware.
Depending on the size of the fleet you may delegate tasks to your secondary

Have them issue the Broadcast
If you get jammed and cant see targets have them take over shot calling for a moment
Maybe you have them be Anchor so you dont have to pilot while calling targets
Have them watch the bigger picture - more ships arriving, changes in enemy composition

In Uni you can request a more experienced FC for your scheduled fleet to back seat for you, being your 2IC and available for advice or adjustments as needed!

Scouts - Players in Interceptors or Fast Tackle ships, maybe in Cloaky Hunters if its a blops fleet, or just cloaky eyes - depends heavily on the type of fleet

You’ll want them to communicate what theyve found if you’re on a roam. They are your ability to find targets and get fights.
You can tell them “Go +1” - they should be 1 system ahead of the fleet. You can tell them to go +2 instead or something - and Go -1 is pull back one. You might have them picket a gate or wormhole, to give you advance warning if something goes through.
When traveling toward your destination, they’ll be your forward eyes - warning you of gate camps, other fleets, or other potential dangers.

You might also have an EWar FC or another sub FC for a special wing of ships that have a specific purposes. Like nuet boats, or bombers, or Capitals. You’ll need to trust them to act independently at times, but still under your guidance

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Preparation - Things to decide

Make these choices then Communicate them to your fleet!

Links�
EWar�
Mid slot Refits�
Ammo to load�
Your ship!

Extra tank?
Combat Probes?
Links yourself?

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

There are things you need to decide that depend on the doctrine you’re flying - and then you need to communicate these to your fleet members.

If you have Command ships with Links available, assign each ship a different set of Links to run. Two ships running the same links in a fleet only the one with the best skills/strongest values will apply. So no sense in having two people running the same links. Split them up among all your pilots in Command ships with links equipped.

Decide what kind of EWar you want to bring - Not only in terms of EWar ships to supplement your fleet, but also in Mid slots

Many ships in doctrines will have refits available - different modules that can be swapped in depending on the need of the fleet. Target Painters, Ewar modules, tackle modules, range and application extenders - what goes in these slots can drastically affect a battle and your fleets performance.

Give an an ammo to load. You don’t have to be as specific as “Load Mjolnir Rage” unless you know or are fairly confident in the enemies resist holes - but at least give “short range” or “long range” as a directive to your fleet

And dont forget to prepare your ship! You have access to tools like “Fleet Warp” and you may be the anchor. While “headshotting” a fleet is often frowned upon, that doesn’t mean it doesnt happen. Loosing a little DPS to make sure you stay on the field longer means less disruption in the chain of command for your fleet

Also, maybe you’ll be the one with combat probes so its easier to punt your fleet onto an enemy that is over 150kms away - fleet warp to the ship you just combat scanned down��And of course, Command Ships are great ships for an FC so… you’ll probably have links yourself. You may be the only ship with links in the fleet. Decide what you’re going to use.

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Preparation - Watchlists

Everyone should add:

Add FC and 2IC
Anchors if different from those
Scouts for ease of warp in�

Logi should add:

Logi Anchor
Cap chain buddies
Other Logi
Special ships - Booshers, tackle, cyno, ect
If small enough - the fleet - otherwise go off broadcast for reps�

Capitals/Black Ops

All Cyno characters for emergency extraction

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

Preparing a watch list is something you should do yourself, and something you should go over with your fleet before you undock.

Everyone should add the FC (you!) and your 2IC - and if any anchors are there have them added as well

They should probably add the scouts/tackle for ease of warp in.

Logi specifically should add their anchor, their cap chain buddies, other logi (for re-structuring cap chain)

They definitely should add any special snowflake ships - Booshers, tackle ships, cynos ships - these will be ships that will get targeted quickly and will need logi to be ready

Only if the fleet is small enough should they add the rest of the fleet. In a larger fleet there is no point to adding everyone to the watch list - people being hit need to Broadcast for Reps

If you happen to be in a fleet with Capitals, they need to add the emergency Cyno toons to the watch list, so they can quickly cyno out of a losing battle.

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Moving your Fleet

STICK TOGETHER!�
Think about:

Align Times
Scout Plan
Anti Tackle �

Clear Commands to Communicate :

Align to …
Use Nato Alphabet
Fleet Take this Warp
“Gate Status”
“Hold Cloak” vs “Crash”

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

Moving your fleet is a major part of any fleet activity. You are going to be moving - it may just be from the undock to the grid the battle is happening in the same system… it could also be several jumps or even dozens of jumps away.

It may be moving while under fire or it may be moving peacefully through empty space. It could be heading into an ambush!

The same things will support you moving no matter what the situation is

Most importantly: KEEP THE FLEET TOGETHER!!!!

Fleets that get strung out across several systems are prone to being defeated by smaller fleets that can take on the small portions that arrive. Moving together is the best chance for you fleet to be able to engage and respond to any threat.

Make sure you think about things like Align Times - you dont want to tell your fleet to align, then warp it immediately. Several people wont yet be aligned, and will warp off after others - stretching your fleet out, leaving people behind that may get tackled, and generally not looking nearly as cool as a fully aligned fleet initiating warp

Have a scout plan - remember +1 or -1 commands to your scouts. Tell them where to Picket if you are holding for a break or regroup, or engaging.

Know what ships in your doctrine may be used for anti tackle or what you want to do if your fleet gets tackled - The situation at hand of course can change your response, but if you think about options before hand you’ll be better able to respond.

While moving, give Clear Commands to your fleet and use the tools in fleet to help out - Align to Target broadcast, and Regroup.

Repeat every command you give - Align, Align, Align - so those that may not be paying super close attention will be more likely to catch the command.

Say “Align to” your next jump point to get the fleet heading in that direction before you warp.

Use the Nato alphabet if you know it - or some semblance of it at least. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie. Accents and poor voice connections are tough things to deal with in a fleet, and confusion on where to warp to will lead to lots of unnecessary chatter

If you are warping the fleet yourself, let them know you are about to take them into warp “Fleet take this Warp” - if you say “Warp Too” then people will warp themselves - which may be desirable!

Let your fleet know the status of a gate you are warping to - Do not say the “J” word!!! (Jump) unless you WANT them to jump - Say “Gate is Red” if you dont want people to jump. Not every language is used to negative positives (Do Not Jump) and people may not catch the Do Not and only hear the jump and then lemming into a situation you do not want them in.

When you’ve come through, remind your fleet to Hold Cloak on the other side, use that gate cloak if there are hostels on grid. Then decide to either engage or crash the gate.

So for example:��Fleet, Align to Quebec Michael Tach Oscar, Align Quebec Michael Tach, Align Quebec Michael Tach, Align Align Align.

Fleet take this warp.

Gate is Red, Gate is Red, Gate is Red.

Fleet hold on gate, Gate is Red.

Everyone Jump Jump Jump, gate is green!

Hold cloak, hold cloak hold cloak

Ok, we’re engaging, primary is ….

Everyone crash the gate and immediately warp yourself to a safe, crash and scatter, crash and scatter!

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Common Movement Commands

Align To…
Warp To…
Gate is Red …
Jump
Hold Invuln
Hold Cloak
Anchor on…
Crash the Gate
Scatter or Starburst

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

Some command you’ll probably use:

Align To - Where to head next, get the fleet ready to warp for a unified warp preventing separation and stragglers

Warp To - usually initiates individual warps to the aligned to target

Gate is Red - Do not use the gate hold position

Jump - use the gate!

Hold Invuln - When landing on grid for the first time a ship is completely invulnerable for several seconds *as long as the pilot doesnt do anything* - dont touch any module, dont move the ship, dont activate anything. You can rotate the camera, but any ship action will end this invulnerability early. Most often used on undock if an enemy fleet is on the station or when you land on grid to delay getting locked up

Hold Cloak - hold that gate cloak after coming through a Jump Gate or Wormhole - 60 seconds where any hostile forces will have less information on what you have brought through.

Anchor On - telling your fleet members to Keep At range of 500-1000 from the pilot that is designated as Anchor

Crash Gate - reapproach the gate and jump soon as you can. GTFO

Scatter or Starburst - Get out. Everyone warp to celestials and bounce around, making safes. As FC you should give a Rally point to pull the fleet back together as soon as you are able.

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Know Your Fleet

Engagement Profile

Brawling (Under 30km), Kiting (30-120), or Sniping (100km+)�

Volley damage of the fleet, sustained dps of the fleet�
Alpha Resistance�
Logi Power�
Ewar type and utility

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

Any good craftsman will tell you that you need to use your tools effectively to get the job done. As an FC your job is to win the battle, and your tool is your fleet - more specifically, the *doctrine* you’ve chosen.

Doctrines are not built willy nilly - theyre built so that the ships involved can support each other at the same basic range, tank capabilities, and utility.

Know your engagement profile - understand if you’lll be Brawling (SBC or AAF), Kiting (KSG) or Sniping.

Look at your fit in Pyfa if you can, in game fitting tool if nothing else, especially for the main dps ship. In pyfa, probably select 4s for a lot of the skills (maybe even make an “All 4s” ‘character’) - and get an idea of what the Alpha (or Volley) of your ship is then multiply that by the number of ships. Do the same for your sustained DPS. Remember this is *raw* paper dps, and application will affect it!

Get an idea of how much alpha it would take to destroy a single ship in your fleet entirely

Likewise, know how much a single logi in your fleet can rep, and expand that to your entire logi wing - so you have an idea of how much dps you can take. Again be aware of paper dps vs applied, and also that Logi will not be perfect - they will be out of range or slow to lock up a new fleet member or someone will forget to broadcast - so understand max paper rep values are not going to be actual in battle values.

And make sure you understand what your EWar does and how it will help you.

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Evaluating a Target

Tackle catch them?
What Ships are on grid? What ships are arriving?
How far can they shoot?
How well will they apply damage to your fleet?
What’s their Alpha (Volley) damage? Or sustained DPS?
Can your reps handle it?
How much tank and reps do they have? Can your DPS handle it?
Did they bring Ewar?

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

When you encounter an enemy fleet, you’ll need to evaluate if its worth taking the fight. There is no single dominate doctrine that wins all fights. There are many counters to every doctrine, and perhaps the enemy ships will simply rip yours to shreds because they counter you.

This is not a skill you can develop by reading a blog post somewhere. Evaluating an enemy fleet takes experience. You will make mistakes, getting your entire fleet whelped (remember fcs need to be able to fail and get back up!) and you will run from fights you probably could have taken. It is a learning curve, and it takes time. That’s why Uni has such a very generous SRP program! So you can learn!

Think about these things:��Can you pin the fleet down or will they just warp away?

What enemy ships are on grid - how many - and are more arriving? Can you fight numbers bigger than you?

Whats the range of their weapons? Can your weapons compete or outrange them? or will you have to cross a killing ground to even engage?

But, even if they out range you, can your ships take it? Maybe they out range you with large guns and you’re in a FLF fleet - you can close that distance and they’ll barely apply to you while you do.

Whats their Alpha (or Volley) damage? Can they wipe out one of your ships before your logi have a chance to catch them? (remember we thought about what our doctrine can take!)

If they cant, can they still do enough sustained DPS to break your logi or will your reps be able to handle it?

How much tank do they have and can you apply to them, do enough volley or sustained dps to break their logi? (Again - we considered how much alpha we’re probably doing, and dps)

What EWAR is in play on both sides, and how will it affect you?��There are so many ships and so many modules and so many situations we could be here until they shut down the servers and still be talking about them. So we can’t really cover them. Best we can do is tell you to pay attention - and learn from your failures.

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Warping In and Anchoring

Warp in

On your tackle
To a pre set bookmark
to a combat probe result
Be aware of:

Plex’s, ESS grids, Deadspace
Drag and Catch Bubbles
Gates and Wormholes

Communicate to fleet what to do when you land!�

Anchor

Keep your fleet in its engagement range of your target
Maintain even some transversal
Stay out of scram range of enemy fleet
Keep your fleet together! Slow yourself down if need be�

Watch D-Scan!

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

When you have a target, you’ll need to get in grid. That can happen in a variety of ways

Warp in to your tackle or a preset bookmark
Combat probe the enemy down and warp to them that way.
Or warp to a structure or celestial at distance if you are comfortable and have an idea where the enemy is on grid.

Remember, the grid is large and warp in points can be disadvantages (or advantages if you are already on grid!)

Plex’s (Faction Warfare), ESS Grids, and Deadspace all change the nature of where you land when you warp to a point or even fleet member
Drag and Catch bubbles may stop your fleet in the wrong place
Gates and wormholes may hide additional enemy ships behind them
Keep your fleet together! not everyone will have the same skills and that can translate into speed differences. If you notice your fleet getting stretched out then you will want to reduce your top speed so the rest of the fleet can stay bunched up.

When you are the Anchor, you will need to keep the fleet moving. Being still means there is no transversal, no matter how small, which means in range attacks apply perfectly. Get that fleet moving!

Aim to keep your fleet in its engagement range of your targets
Maintain that transversal as best you can
Stay out of scram range - usually around 10-15kms - of the enemy fleet, so your MWDs dont get turned off and ships fall out of formation

Even if you delegate it, you should keep an eye as you can on D-scan - you may see new ships warping in the system meaning an escalation or combat probes meaning a potential punt incoming.

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Target Calling

Primary, Secondary Targets

Name of Pilot, Ship Type, and try to Broadcast the Primary

Target Priority

Closest?
Weakest Tank versus Highest Threat?
Snowflake Threats?
Ewar?
The enemy FC? (Headshot)
Just pick something!

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

One of the primary responsibilities of an FC is target calling. This can be very overwhelming for newer FCs, especially if there are a lot of enemy ships on grid. You have a lot of choices and it can become overwhelming.

In the end, if you can’t decide within a few heartbeats JUST PICK SOMETHING!!! Anything!!!!

When you’re a little more experienced and calm, consider these things:

Have at the very least a Primary and Secondary target called and locked up for your fleet. Perhaps even a Tertiary. This allows for quicker DPS to be applied to another target when you initial one dies

Broadcast that primary! It bumps it to the top of the overview for the entire fleet making it much easier to find

When you call out a target, call the Name of the Pilot, the ship theyre in. Again, since accents and sound quality can always be an issue, consider using the Nato Phonetic alphabet (or sometiming close!) to call out the first 3 letters of the targets name

Primary is Luxxianna in the Widow, Luxxianna in the Widow, Lima, Uniform, X-Ray in the Widow Lock them up and start shooting.

When you’re deciding on targets, what is most important to you will vary depending on your fleet, doctrine, and the enemy composition. But you can always have a few criteria to think about.

Whats within range? If a higher priority target isnt in range it doesnt make sense to take a lot of fire while you try to catch it without putting any fire back

What will have the Weakest tank so you can kill it fast and reduce the enemy numbers and threat? Or what is the highest threat?

What about snowflake threats like Booshers or ECM boats. Likewise Ewar needs to be handled and understood as to its threat level depending on your doctrine (You did think about this before hand, didnt you?)

You can pick the enemy FC - this is called a Headshot… its generally considered rather rude to do.

IN the end however… JUST PICK SOMETHING! some damage flying is better than none!

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Common Combat Commands

Anchor/Re-Anchor�
Spinnies on�
Primary Is…�
Give me Heat…�
Pause guns, Reload�
Swap Target�
MWDs on�

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

When you’re in combat you may use all the commands we talked about on the Movement page, but you might also use some others. Remember COMMUNCIATION is key, and being clear, loud, assertive, and repeating yoursrelf is important to make sure your fleet knows what to do.

Remind them to anchor on you (or your anchor) if you’ve just warped.

Likewise if you’ve just gone through a session change, give a reminder to put your “Spinnies” on - that would be modules like Hardeners and Targeting computers that need to be re-activated every Session change and have a huge impact on an individual ships capability

You’ll want to call Primary (and secondary, and so on)

You’ll tell them when to overheat their guns. Make sure you remind people NOT to burn out their guns cause burned out guns means NO damage. You’ll want to use this if you think you can break past their logi with a little more dps.

Pause guns, reload can be a useful command - especially in Alpha heavy comps. You want your ships to be firing as close together in cycles as possible so big chunks of damage hit the target all at once, hopefully chewing through the buffer of a ship before logi can catch them. People reloading in the middle of s sustained fire make the dps fluctuate, and its harder to tell if the reps are landing or if you’re still going to break them

Likewise, you may swap targets before one is dead. The hope here is to catch logi with their pants down, and unable to retarget quickly enough before you can do enough damage with your fleet to punch through their buffer. Its useful when used in combination of a reload and a count down - and multiple targets locked up

MWDs on - you need to tell your fleet when to turn them on And when to turn them off - which is something a lot of FCs forget. Generally you only need them on a couple of cycles and its useful to tell your fleet “MWDs on for 2 cycles or something else with a low number to get a small boost of speed without forgetting to turn them off. ��Its extremely important, if you ask to Overheat your fleets prop mods, that you Tell them when to stop - and keep in mind not everyone has Thermodynamics 5, they will burn out faster than others.

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When to Extract

If you’re losing a fight…

Communicate!
Primary Tackle (Bubblers, Interceptors)
Align to a location
Recall drones if there is time
Warp the fleet when everyone is aligned and most are not tackled
Scatter if its really bad

Don’t sacrifice the fleet to save a few ships!

Don’t forget the After Action Report!

Fairly often you’ll find yourself on the losing side. This happens! Recognizing when you extract is just as important (and experience laden) skill as when to engage!

If you decide to extract, first of all COMMUNICATE this to your fleet, then give clear directions

Primary any tackle on the grid so your fleet can get off - such as bubblers and interceptors

Align your fleet, and get them moving toward a destination. I

Recall drones if there is time

Ask your fleet if anyone is tackled. Decide if its worth the loss of those ships or if you should stray a little longer to either outrange tackle (Overheat prop mods) or kill said tackle

Warp when you are ready to accept whatever is still tackled as losses.

If it’s really bad, your logi wing has collapsed and there is practically no way to save the fleet, then its every man for themselves, order the fleet to scatter.

Most importantly… Don’t sacrifice the entire fleet for a few!

�After you get out (or your entire fleet is whelped) take a few minutes to go over the fleet with anyone who is still in comms. Ask for feed back, give advice and take it. Examine what went right and what went wrong. If you never attempt to evaluate the failures and actually determine what went wrong or what choices were incorrect, you can never make better choices or actions in the future. Deliberate review from both yourself as honestly as possible and from your fleet mates will be a great tool in figuring out what to do better *next time*

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Remember - You’re the Boss

You’re In Charge
You have final say …

On what ships are being used and allowed
On destination and targeting
On engaging or extracting
On fleet participation
On anything and everything

But you are not an island!

Delegate!
Listen to advice and information!
COMMUNICATE!!!

Be Firm, Assertive, but willing to listen. Be Vocal, but take advice. Be A Leader!

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

Finally, something to drive home.

You are the FC.

You are in Charge

YOU have final say.

You can and should say NO!

Someone asks you if they can bring a specific ship? You can say no. Doesn’t fit your engagement profile, its too blingy, it will attract the wrong kind of response. You can and should say no.

You get to decide where the fleet is going, what the target is.

You get to decide if you should engage or extract.

You even get to decide who participates. Don’t be an ass - but you have every right to bar someone who is constantly disruptive from your fleet! you can get people mutted if they are constantly talking and chatting when communication is important, or constantly have a hot mike and have so much back ground noise (ask any green name to mute them if you need to!)

You even have final say on NOT saying something, for purposes of OpSec or even just brevity. You do not owe the members of your fleet any explanation during the fleet - though you should aim to do something after the fleet so everyone can benefit from it.

You can and should 100% also remind people that combat comms means no idle chatter - keep it to a minimum so information does not get lost.

That all being said… You’re not an island. You don’t have to do it all yourself.

Delegate! There is a ton to keep track of and good FCs have teams around them. Strong corps and strong fleets support each other.

If your fleet is entirely quiet, don’t hesitate to encourage people to speak up if they see something. Someone sees a boosher or new tackle or a fleet arriving - they need to speak up and you need to make it clear they should!

Other players may have FC experience and may give you advice - listen! But you don’t have to take it. You may make the right choice here or the wrong one, but whats important is that *you* make the choice. Not a back seat FC.

And again…

COMMUNICATE!

always be communicating your next move, your intent, your decisions. Be firm, Assertive. Be decisive. Be vocal. ��But take advice and listen when others talk. ��Be a Leader!

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Advanced Concepts

Bait�
Escalation�
Target Switching�
Firewalls�
Windrunners / Alpha Strikes�
Spearfishing

INTRODUCTION TO Fleet Command

Some quick touching on some advanced concepts of running a fleet - not a ton of detail here, but so you are aware:

�Bait - Putting a target out somewhere with your fleet hidden (usually several systems or away or in a wormhole) to catch another fleet. Usually this target is a juicy ship that looks like a good killmail - maybe even some good loot - and its often over tanked (sometimes with Hull tank due to its high resistances). You might also “Bait Tank” by pulsing your reps so it looks like your slowly breaking, hopefully enticing the enemy FC to stay on grid just a little while longer…

Escalation - similar to baiting, but slightly different - leaving a portion of your fleet behind so you can bring it in to secure the kill or in response to their escalation - many FCs will not take a fight if they are significantly outnumbered, so the idea is to present a target that looks like it can be taken by the enemy FC, but is strong enough to survive for enough time for the rest of the fleet to arrive - and has enough tackle to hold the enemy fleet on grid.

Target Switching - mentioned this briefly on the Combat commands slide - but swapping targets rapidly to overwhelm logi is a common tactic. You might also split damage from your fleet to target multiple ships at once to try and break up logi

Firewalls - Using Smartbombs to blow up missiles in flight, preventing the damage from ever reaching the targets.

Windrunning or an Alpha heavy fleet- using tacticals on the grid to warp your fleet around, landing long enough to use long range, heavy damage (ie: Artillery) weapons and massed attacks all at once on a single target to “Alpha” it off the grid, then warping again to stay out of reach of the enemy.

Spearfishing - Using multiple booshing ships (Command Destroyers with the Micro Jump Field) to cover more than 100kms with multiple jumps or to jump in from a distance and immediately boosh part of the fleet away, breaking up its cohesion.

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